David Byrne Sues Politician Over 'Road To Nowhere'

May 25th, 2010 12:00pm EDT

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Former Talking Heads star David Byrneis suing a Florida politician for using his Road To Nowhere hit as a campaign anthem - without permission.

The rocker is seeking $1 million in damages from state Governor Charlie Crist, for using the 1985 song in an online ad attacking his one-time opponent Marco Rubio. Byrne filed his suit on Monday in Tampa, Florida.

He tells Billboard.com, "I was pretty upset by that... (This) is not about politics... It's about copyright and about the fact that it does imply that I would have licensed it and endorsed him and whatever he stands for."

Byrne is being represented by attorney Lawrence Iser, who helped Jackson Browne win a copyright court battle against former presidential candidate John McCain, who illegally used Browne's song Running on Empty as a campaign song.

Iser says, "I was fairly astonished that this soon after the settlement of Browne vs. McCain, yet another politician with national aspirations is doing this again."